OK Gazette: Millennials are changing the city forever

[BDP]

Cover story: Millennials are changing the city forever | Oklahoma Gazette

I have really enjoyed seeing what this growing demographic has been doing for the city the last few years and, as a Gen Xer, it's been doubly nice that I haven't had to do any of the work.

[Pete]

Very interesting graphic; this pertains to those in the 20 to 34 age group:

[bradh]

I would love to hear more about Anadu's walkable experience in Houston.

[BDP]

Very interesting graphic;

Yeah. Thought about posting that in the Tulsa v. OKC thread, but more level heads prevailed.

[Pete]

Of course, much of this is driven by jobs of all types.

And not just for college grads... With all the distribution / light industrial and service industry jobs, there are lots of well-paying options for young people without a degree.

[bchris02]

Bottom line, when it comes to where to live employment is the number one priority for most people. In OKC, it's easier to find employment and climb the ladder than it is in a lot of places, especially the stereotypical millennial hotspots where competition for jobs is extremely tight. OKC also now offers an acceptable palate of amenities that people don't object to it like they once did.

[Just the facts]

That high teen birth rate is finally paying off. I kid, I kid.

[Plutonic Panda]

Very interesting graphic; this pertains to those in the 20 to 34 age group:

That is extremely weird, yet impressive at the same time. Tulsa went from having a 0% growth rate to 22%. That's strange. Then again, apparently Dallas went from 26% to post negative, but I suppose a city that is bigger than most states population wise will loose some millennials every now and then.

[ljbab728]

That is extremely weird, yet impressive at the same time. Tulsa went from having a 0% growth rate to 22%. That's strange. Then again, apparently Dallas went from 26% to post negative, but I suppose a city that is bigger than most states population wise will loose some millennials every now and then.

Plupan, you aren't understanding the map. The figure in blue is the percentage of the total population represented by millennials. The figure in red is the growth rate percentage of millennials.

[Plutonic Panda]

Plupan, you aren't understanding the map. The figure in blue is the percentage of the total population represented by millennials. The figure in red is the growth rate percentage of millennials.

Thank you. That makes much more sense!

[bchris02]

I wonder why the blue number is still pretty average with such a strong growth rate.. You would think with that kind of a growth rate you would think the total percentage would be higher, but it only barely beats out Kansas City and Tulsa and is behind the rest of the cities listed here. I would be interested to see migration patterns. Things like who is moving to OKC vs who is moving to Denver and Austin. Also what the migration pattern is for educated young professionals vs blue collar.

[BG918]

How is Dallas losing millennials?

[adaniel]

How is Dallas losing millennials?

DFW as a whole is still a big draw for millennials (although maybe not as much as in previous years) due to the job market alone.

Dallas, the city itself, is a mess politically, still hanging on to old ideas about development and attracting young professionals.

More than anything, this city has hurt itself by putting regional mobility ahead of its own growth. By endorsing runaway freeway construction, Dallas has allowed a lot of residents and major employers to set up shop way out in the suburbs. The end result is there really isn't a "center" here. Dallas, as the metro's primary city, should play that role and it is not. And given that millennials naturally are setting near the center's, Dallas is really at a disadvantage. Sure there's Uptown, but it is simply too far away from most of DFW's job centers to be doable for anything but a small slice of the population.

D Magazine is one of my favorite magazines and they have covered this issue quite a bit (I've posted links down below in case you are curious), but a lot of mainstream publications like the Dallas Morning News have not really picked it up. IMO a lot of people here don't get the implications of these figures or really don't care, which in itself is a big problem.

Why Young People Like Denver More Than Dallas | FrontBurner | D Magazine

Dallas and The Millennials | Street Smart

[bchris02]

From the first article you posted about young people choosing Denver over Dallas.

" Mountains, sunshine, jobs in tech, and “perception of cultural cool,” stoked by microbreweries, bike-sharing, and liberal attitudes towards marijuana and same sex-marriage."

If this is true, then how is OKC outpacing Dallas and many other cities in growth of 18-34 year-olds when the city's perception is pretty much the complete opposite of this?

In my personal opinion, the answer is not all millennials seek the same thing and different people have different priorities in determining where they live. No city is going to be attractive to everyone. Employment is the dominating factor over everything else for most people. If you live in your dream city but have a job that you hate and/or are barely getting by, there comes a time to make a decision as to whether you will stay in a bad situation simply to stay in the city of your preference, or if you will move somewhere else for better employment. OKC is a city where it is easier to get your foot in the door and work your way up than it is in a lot of places. It's also easier to get involved in the community here. That can be a draw for a lot of young professionals.

People whose top priority is living in a hipster city with a huge "cool" factor should move to Austin, Denver, Portland, Seattle, or San Francisco. It's unlikely they will be truly happy anywhere else.

[Plutonic Panda]

DFW as a whole is still a big draw for millennials (although maybe not as much as in previous years) due to the job market alone.

Dallas, the city itself, is a mess politically, still hanging on to old ideas about development and attracting young professionals.

More than anything, this city has hurt itself by putting regional mobility ahead of its own growth. By endorsing runaway freeway construction, Dallas has allowed a lot of residents and major employers to set up shop way out in the suburbs. The end result is there really isn't a "center" here. Dallas, as the metro's primary city, should play that role and it is not. And given that millennials naturally are setting near the center's, Dallas is really at a disadvantage. Sure there's Uptown, but it is simply too far away from most of DFW's job centers to be doable for anything but a small slice of the population.

D Magazine is one of my favorite magazines and they have covered this issue quite a bit (I've posted links down below in case you are curious), but a lot of mainstream publications like the Dallas Morning News have not really picked it up. IMO a lot of people here don't get the implications of these figures or really don't care, which in itself is a big problem.

Why Young People Like Denver More Than Dallas | FrontBurner | D Magazine

Dallas and The Millennials | Street Smart

Yeap, freeway construction is sure hurting Dallas. That's why they're one of the fastest growing metros in the US.

BTW, I'm young, and I like Dallas. I know a lot of other young people who do to. This urbanism crap that gets spewed on here and many other forum websites is something I first learned about only because I started becoming more active on online development forums. This really starts to smell of some agenda. Why is going to a city that already urbanized so hard? Do you ever see me saying that London needs to be building tons of new highway and six lane roads? No. Oklahoma City is not an urban city and never will be. Same with Dallas. Dallas has an awesome highway network and I hope they keep it up with the sole of exception of the Trinity River Tollway, but that is starting to look like it is completely dead.

This 'millennial's changing the city forever' thing seems like a huge fad and how funny it will be to watch all of them end up in suburbs in their 30's. I already know a couple Millennial's who are living in the burbs.

[Plutonic Panda]

Why Young People Like Denver More Than Dallas | FrontBurner | D Magazine

This very interesting.

Why are people choosing a place like Denver over Dallas? Mountains, sunshine, jobs in tech, and “perception of cultural cool,” stoked by microbreweries, bike-sharing, and liberal attitudes towards marijuana and same sex-marriage. Now, Dallas will never have mountains, but it might be worthwhile to keep some of these factors in mind as we talk about building a highway through the little green space we do have. And, as I’ve mentioned before, Denver is also notable for its aggressive and ambitious investments in public transit.

Dallas did rank well in one category, though. It has been successful at attracting young people to its urban core. In other words, Dallas isn’t doing a great job attracting young people, but when young people do move here, they move to places like Uptown. It doesn’t take a degree in economics to see what this is all implying. If Dallas wants to compete in the future, it needs to figure out how to develop into a city that has a more vibrant, cohesive urban core.

So why even mention mountains then? Because they're building a new tollway through a park. . . What the f#ck?

Also, that is one of the little green spaces we have... Seriously? There are parks all over the city and metroplex. Go to any new urban development out in Frisco or Plano and you will see that there are tons of younger people living in them.

The urban core is also very active. Go to downtown Dallas any night and I always see people walking around. I was stuck in a mess of traffic, both cars and pedestrians, in Uptown trying to get on the North Dallas Tollway at 2:30 in the morning when it was like 35 degrees or so.

Another thing I would like to see is whether or not they factored in cost of living in there as well.

What a joke of an article.

[betts]

If I had to choose between Denver and Dallas it would be no contest. Even without the view, Denver is way cooler. But my millenials (kids) live in Chicago and San Francisco, both of which trump either of those IMO.

[Rover]

Millenials better hurry with their changes. Gen Z's different character and its future impact is already being forecast.

[bchris02]

Dallas has multiple centers of urban activity throughout its metro and even downtown Dallas is very impressive. West End is also not dead like many people on this site have said. Another thing that is important to consider is because DFW is so large, they can be attracting several times as many young professionals as places like OKC (in sheer number) and still have a rather unimpressive percentage gain compared to smaller cities. DFW has also been a consistent magnet for young people vs other cities having once experienced brain drain now becoming destinations for young professionals.

I think OKC's numbers are best explained by the slowing of the brain drain. 15 years ago young people pretty much had to leave OKC to find higher-paying, skilled employment. Today they can stay here if they desire. To top all of that off, OKC's major energy companies like Devon and Chesapeake offer very attractive perks in order to attract and retain millennials.

[warreng88]

Just for clarification, does the boundaries of Dallas really only consist of 635 on the north and east, 20 on the south and 12 on the west? From then on out is it mostly suburbs? I think this would help with some of the confusion PP is getting on people about.

[Urbanized]

I've been to West End three times in the past couple of years. Once I was there because it was the only place where I could book the Marriott product I was looking for at the last minute. Twice I was in the district because I transferred from one train to the other and made ill-advised, spur-of-the-moment, curiosity-driven decisions to find a bar and have a drink before hopping the next train. I can tell you from those experiences that it absolutely, unequivocally is...DEAD.

[warreng88]

Also, that is one of the little green spaces we have... Seriously? There are parks all over the city and metroplex. Go to any new urban development out in Frisco or Plano and you will see that there are tons of younger people living in them.

The urban core is also very active. Go to downtown Dallas any night and I always see people walking around. I was stuck in a mess of traffic, both cars and pedestrians, in Uptown trying to get on the North Dallas Tollway at 2:30 in the morningwhen it was like 35 degrees or so.

Another thing I would like to see is whether or not they factored in cost of living in there as well.

What a joke of an article.

And that is the point right there that you seem to be missing that adaniel is spot on about. People might be hanging out in Dallas, but most of them are living in the suburbs, not in the urban core. I think THAT is the point of the article.

[OkiePoke]

I'm in my mid-20s. I took a job out of college where I traveled a bit, and lived in Western Oklahoma. It wasn't very enjoyable. After putting my time in, I took a job located in OKC. The other few engineers here also relocated, albeit out of state. OKC is fun, is 'home-y'. But, if I could, I would move to Denver in a heartbeat.

[bchris02]

And that is the point right there that you seem to be missing that adaniel is spot on about. People might be hanging out in Dallas, but most of them are living in the suburbs, not in the urban core. I think THAT is the point of the article.

First, Dallas has multiple centers of urban activity. You don't have to live in downtown or uptown to get an urban experience in the Metroplex. Secondly, even the lesser urban centers in DFW arguably offer a superior urban experience to living in downtown OKC. It's just cookie cutter without a lot of character, which a lot of people don't like. Denver is full of character which is one reason its so popular. Lastly, its not like OKC has a lot of bragging rights in the area of urban/suburban population distribution in 2015. Certainly not more than Dallas. Both cities are well behind Austin and Denver in that area, both of which have outstanding, vibrant urban cores.

[OKCretro]

From the first article you posted about young people choosing Denver over Dallas.

"

If this is true, then how is OKC outpacing Dallas and many other cities in growth of 18-34 year-olds when the city's perception is pretty much the complete opposite of this?

Don't listen to the people on this board's perception of the city. The liberals on this board claim okc is backwards and just a bunch of lemmings for Sally Kern, which is not true at all.
Was traveling the last 10 days, and when I told people I was from OKC, they said they had heard nothing but positive things about the city.